AIDS Epidemic Update: December 2006

December 2, 2006

Global efforts to address the AIDS epidemic have generated many promising developments, but the number of people living with HIV continues to grow. According to the AIDS Epidemic Update: December 2006 (96 pages, PDF), 39.5 million people worldwide, most of them adults (37.2 million), have HIV, with almost half (47 percent) of them women. Moreover, in 2006, 4.3 million people were newly infected — about 400,000 more than in 2004. Compiled by UNAIDS and the World Health Organization, the update also notes that sub-Saharan Africa continues to bear the brunt of the epidemic.